The ecruit guide to working from home

Amidst the COVID-19 outbreak, a lot of us find ourselves completely changing our routines. These seem like crazy times, people are stockpiling toilet paper, hand sanitiser has been sold out for weeks and tube stations and airports are deserted. Many businesses have now taken the decision to allow employees to work from home, to try and prevent any further spread of the disease.

Here at ecruit, we luckily all have the privilege to be able to work from home, but, in reality this can feel like a massive change in routine for all of us who are used to an office environment. Ecruit has put together some tips to make your working from home experience as productive and positive as possible, and to try and ease the transition in these uncertain times.

Before you make the change

Preparation

While your team members are still in the office, you should try and take steps to ensure your team can work productively and comfortably at home.

This means trying to make the at home work set up as similar to your office as possible. Make sure that:

• Everyone has the right equipment at home required e.g. laptops, monitors, cables, headsets etc.
• Everyone has the necessary logins and access to do work remotely.
• Contact numbers are shared.
• Set up some team wide communication whether that be by conference call or video conferencing.

Once you’ve made the change

Communication

The key to working at home is communication. Keeping the team in loop keeps everyone’s morale up, and continues normality when everyone is working remotely.

Set up some key times when your team can check in with each other, either through conference call or video conferencing. Letting everyone know a summary of your day, or perhaps checking in in the morning will make sure everyone feels supported and ready to work.

Software wise, we highly recommend Microsoft Teams – this is a great way to work remotely without feeling remote. Teams allows you to set up a group chat for your team, file sharing, video conferencing, meeting recordings and much more.

Set up

• You want to set up your at home work space in a way that’s as similar to your office set up as possible.
• Set up your equipment somewhere quiet and out of the way of distractions, along with a comfortable chair.
• Always make sure you have power outlets nearby with chargers so you don’t have any last minute panics.
• Try to make sure that the other people at home with you know that you are working as usual so distractions can be kept to a minimum.

Structuring your day

• Get up the way you usually would for work, rather than waiting until the minute before you have to start. Waking up at your usual time will put you in the mind set for work and get you ready for the day.
• Make sure to eat a healthy breakfast and take some time to centre yourself before entering your at home work space. It can be easy to fall into habits of working much longer when you’re at home, as it feels removed from ordinary work space and you don’t have to commute, but it’s important to keep balance, so begin work when you usually would.
• Write out a clear to do list and check in with your team to start the day.
• For lunch, make sure you take a break – we mean literally leave your work space the same way you would in your office. This will keep your usual routine and stop you feeling overwhelmed or restless for the rest of the day.
• Keep hydrated throughout your work day, and keep healthy snacks nearby – all of this helps with boosting your immune system and energy.
• Near the end of the day, check in with your team and summarise any key achievements to keep everyone positive and informed.
• Once you’re finished working for the day, remove yourself from your work space and relax. This way you will keep your working day and down time separate and keep your mind clear.

Final Thoughts

We know that currently we are in a scary time – and changes in routine often leave us all feeling out of sorts, even without a pandemic on our hands. We should all be aware of the reality of the situation and definitely be vigilant with handwashing and sanitising, but the only way to move forward is to keep calm and continue with a sense of normalcy wherever we can.

Working from home may be a big change, but by following these tips we can make the transfer as smooth as possible and keep a level head.